As a girl growing up in Matour village in Haryana's Kaithal district, Manisha Moun's parents made it quite clear they weren't planning to let her be a boxer. So, when as a 12-year-old she first decided that was exactly what she planned on doing, she hid it from her parents. It was two years before they were alerted of her decision, courtesy pictures in the local paper of her victory in a district-level competition.
Eight years after she first sneaked out of home to fulfill her passion, Moun's proud mother Usha Rani was in attendance ringside at the Indira Gandhi stadium, cheering and hooting as the 20-year-old pulled off a massive upset in the first round of the Women's boxing World Championships, shocking Christina Cruz of the USA by a wide unanimous decision.
By any account, the contest was a difficult one, against a two-time World bronze medallist who has a decade of high-level experience on the Indian. Yet, if anyone was going to be unfazed by the magnitude of the challenge, it was Moun.
Italian chief coach Rafael Bergemasco can only smile with incredulity about her attitude. "Ingenuo (naively innocent)" is how he describes it with a smile. "With the others you know they might take some pressure before a World Championships. That's not the case with Manisha," he says.
Her teammates back that carefree nature. "She won't even be concerned about the draw or who her opponent is. She will probably be dancing in her room before her bouts," says friend and fellow boxer Shashi.
Moun herself seems mildly insulted that the question is even asked of her. "Was I nervous before the World Championships? No, why would I be?" she remarks. "I wasn't nervous before the first time I got into the ring and I wasn't even nervous after I lost that first bout. Kya karna hai tension le ke (What am I going to do by being tense)?" she laughs.
The only thing that worries Moun is her family. Her father has suffered two strokes over the past few years. "That's the only thing that makes me worry. After my name first came in the paper, he has been very supportive but he wasn't able to come this time," she says.
It's clear that others were nervous though. Before her debut at the World Championships, Moun was warned about just how tough her draw was. " I don't have the knowledge of the field but my seniors were telling me just how difficult it was to even get to the bronze medal. Last night they told me to watch her (Cruz's) bouts to see just how good a boxer she is. I just saw her age and I closed the laptop. She is 35, so there is no point looking at her bouts. She may have the experience but I have also prepared. I just thought, 'let her do what she does.' Okay, I knew she has a lot of experience but I'm very young and I've got a lot of speed, don't I?" she said after her win.
It wasn't just speed that won Moun her bout on Friday -- a finely honed fighting brain contributed significantly, too. "Manisha executed her plan perfectly. The USA boxer is very aggressive but that means she gives a lot of opportunities. Manisha needed to hit her on the counter and fight while keeping her distance. She did that very well," says Bergemasco. "Indian fighters in the past used to just be aggressive. Manisha isn't just like that. She has a lot of heart but she is an intelligent boxer too," says Bergemasco.
That nous marks out Manisha, says Bergemasco, as emblematic of a new generation of Indian boxers.
"Okay, I knew she (Cruz) has a lot of experience but I'm very young and I've got a lot of speed, don't I?" Manisha Moun
And that's exactly what Moun is, having broken into the national reckoning only at the start of the year when she won her first medal - a silver at the National Championships. Her loss in the final of that tournament has been avenged thrice. "It's my first year as a senior and ek dum fantastic raha hai (It has been fantastic). I have won medals in every competition I've taken part in," she says.
The most recent one was at the prestigious Silesian Boxing Championships in Poland, where she clinched a silver, beating, among others, reigning world bantamweight champion Dina Zholiman. That win is significant considering Moun will be fighting Zholiman for a place in the quarterfinals in New Delhi.
A medal is not quite within grasp but Moun certainly won't be worrying much about that just yet. She's already come quite far very quickly and is expected to go a long way in the future. "When I was young and competing at the district level, I always wanted India written behind my jacket. But at the district level, I had Kaithal. Then Haryana at the state level, so I really wanted India name on my kit. When I got that, I wanted a blazer. That is also complete now with the World Championships," she says.
For what it's worth, mother Usha Rani though is quite satisfied already. "I've seen Manisha compete in all sorts of tournaments right from the district level. She's already gone very far," she smiles.